Forest lands, being part of the public domain, are subject 9.
9. Areas needed for other purposes, such as national
to the rules of government on what can and cannot be
done on the land and to all the natural resources therein.
It is clear from the Boracay case above that “forest
lands” and “forests” are different. The general applicable
law is The Revised Forestry Code.
Revised Forestry Code Presidential Decree No. 705,
as amended
Section 15. Topography - No land of the public domain
eighteen per cent (18%) in slope or over shall be
classified as alienable and disposable, nor any forest
land fifty per cent (50%) in slope or over, as grazing
land.
Lands eighteen percent (18%) in slope or over which
have already been declared as alienable and disposable
shall be reverted to the classification of forest lands by
the Department Head, to form part of the forest reserves,
unless they are already covered by existing titles
approved public land application, or actually occupied
openly, continuously, adversely and publicly for a period
of not less than thirty (30) years as of the effectivity of
this Code, where the occupant is qualified for a free
patent under the Public Land Act: Provided, That said
lands, which are not yet part of a well-established
communities, shall be kept in a vegetative condition
sufficient to prevent erosion and adverse effects on the
lowlands and streams: Provided, further, That when
public interest so requires, steps shall be taken to
expropriate, cancel defective titles, reject public land
application, or eject occupants thereof.
Section 16. Areas Needed for Forest Purposes - The
following lands, even if they are below eighteen percent
(18%) in slope, are needed for forest purposes, and may
not, therefore, be classified as alienable and disposable
land, to wit:
1. Areas less than 250 hectares which are far from, or
are not contiguous with any certified alienable and
disposable land;
2. Isolated patches of forest of at least five (5) hectares
with rocky terrain, or which protect a spring for
communal use;
3. Areas which have already been reforested;
4. Areas within forest concessions which are timbered or
have good residual stocking to support an existing, or
approved to be established, wood processing plant;
5. Ridge tops and plateaus regardless of size found
within, or surrounded wholly or partly by, forest lands
where headwaters emanate;
6. Appropriately located road-rights-of-way;
7. Twenty-meter strips of land along the edge of the
normal high waterline of rivers and streams with
channels of at least five (5) meters wide;
8. Strips of mangrove or swamplands at least twenty
(20) meters wide, along shorelines facing oceans, lakes,
and other bodies of water, and strips of land at least
twenty (20) meters wide facing lakes;
parks, national historical sites, game refuges and wildlife
sanctuaries, forest station sites, and others of public
interest; and
10. Areas previously proclaimed by the President as
forest reserves, national parks, game refuge, bird
sanctuaries, national shrines, national historic sites:
Provided, That in case an area falling under any of the
foregoing categories shall have been titled in favor of
any person, steps shall be taken, if public interest so
requires, to have said title canceled or amended, or the
titled area expropriated.
xxx
grazing land - a field covered with grass or herbage and
suitable for grazing by livestock. ley, pasture,
pastureland, lea. common land, commons - a pasture
subject to common use. cow pasture - a pasture for
cows. grassland - land where grass or grasslike
vegetation grows and is the dominant form of plant life.
Section 19. Multiple Use - The numerous beneficial uses
of the timber, land, soil, water, wildlife, grass and
recreation or aesthetic value of forest lands and grazing
lands shall be evaluated and weighted before allowing
their utilization, exploitation, occupation or possession
thereof, or the conduct of any activity therein. Only the
utilization, exploitation, occupation or possession of any
forest lands and grazing lands, or any activity therein,
involving one or more of its resources, which will
produce the optimum benefits to the development and
progress of the country, and the public welfare, without
impairment or with the least injury to its resources, shall
be allowed.
All forest reservations may be open to development or
uses not inconsistent with the principal objectives of the
reservation; Provided, That critical watersheds, national
parks and established experimental forests shall not be
subject to commercial logging or grazing operations, and
game refuges, bird sanctuaries, marine and seashore
parks shall not be subject to hunting or fishing and other
activities of commercial nature. [As amended by PD No.
1559]
Section 20. License Agreement, License, Lease or
Permit - No person may utilize, exploit, occupy, possess
or conduct any activity within any forest and grazing
land, or establish, install, add and operate any wood or
forest products processing plant, unless he had been
authorized to do under a license agreement, license,
lease or permit: Provided, That when the national
interest so requires, the President may amend, modify,
replace, or rescind any contract, concession, permit,
license, or any other form of privilege granted herein:
Provided, further, That upon the recommendation of the
appropriate government agency, the President may,
pending the conduct of appropriate hearing, order the
summary suspension of any such contract, concession,
license, permit, lease or privilege granted under this
decree for violation of any of the conditions therein such
as those pertaining but not limited to reforestation,
pollution, environment protection, export limitation or
such condition as are prescribed by the Department of
Natural Resources in daily issued regulations. [As
amended by PD No. 1559]
xxx
root word: kaingin (opening in the forest for cultivation)
A kaingero is one who clears the land for farming.
Kaingeros are usually slash-and-burn cultivators. They
plant a few times on the land they’ve cleared until it
loses its fertility — perhaps two years — then they move
on to another patch of land and clear and cultivate in the
same manner before moving on yet again in a repeat of
the process.
Section 52. Census of Kaingineros, Squatters, Cultural
Minorities and Other Occupants and Residents in Forest
Lands - Henceforth, no person shall enter into forest
lands and cultivate the same without lease or permit.
A complete census of kaingineros, squatters, cultural
minorities and other occupants and residents in forest
lands with or without authority or permits from the
government, showing the extent of their respective
occupation and resulting damage, or impairment of
forest resources, shall be conducted.
The Bureau may call upon other agencies of the
government and holders of license agreement, license,
lease and permits over forest lands to participate in the
census.
Section 53. Criminal Prosecution - Kaingineros,
squatters, cultural minorities and other occupants who
entered into forest lands and grazing lands before May
19, 1975, without permit or authority, shall not be
prosecuted: Provided, That they do not increase their
clearings: Provided, further, That they undertake, within
two (2) months from notice thereof, the activities to be
imposed upon them by the Bureau in accordance with
management plan calculated to conserve and protect
forest resources in the area: Provided, finally, That
kaingineros, squatters, cultural minorities and other
occupants shall whenever the best land use of the area
so demands as determined by the Director, be ejected
and relocated to the nearest accessible government
resettlement area. [As amended by PD No. 1559]
xxx
Section 78. Cutting, Gathering and/or Collecting Timber,
or Other Forest Products Without License - Any person
who shall cut, gather, collect, remove timber or other
forest products from any forestland, or timber from
alienable or disposable public land, or from private land,
without any authority, or possess timber or other forest
products without the legal documents as required under
existing forest laws and regulations, shall be punished
with the penalties imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of
the Revised Penal Code: Provided, That in the case of
partnership, associations, or corporations, the officers
who ordered the cutting, gathering, collection or
possession shall be liable, and if such officers are aliens,
they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported without
further proceedings on the part of the Commission on
Immigration and Deportation.
The Court shall further order the confiscation in favor of
the government of the timber or any forest products cut,
gathered, collected, removed, or possessed, as well as
the machinery, equipment, implements and tools illegally
used in the area where the timber or forest products are
found. [As amended by PD No. 1559, and by EO No.
277, prom. July 25, 1987, 83 OG No. 31, Aug. 3, 1987]
Section 78-A. Administrative Authority of the Department
Head or His Duly Authorized Representative to Order
Confiscation - In all cases of violations of this Code or
other forest laws, rules and regulations, the Department
Head or his duly authorized representative, may order
the confiscation of any forest products illegally cut,
gathered, removed, or possessed or abandoned, and all
conveyances used either by land, water or air in the
commission of the offense and to dispose of the same in
accordance with pertinent laws, regulations or policies
on the matter. [As added by EO No. 277]
Section 79. Unlawful Occupation or Destruction of Forest
Lands and Grazing Lands - Any person who enters and
occupies or possesses, or makes kaingin for his own
private use or for others, any forest land or grazing land
without authority under a license agreement, lease,
license or permit, or in any manner destroys such forest
land or grazing land or part thereof, or causes any
damage to the timber stand and other products and
forest growth found therein, or who assists, aids or abets
any other person to do so, or sets a fire, or negligently
permits a fire to be set in any forest land or grazing land,
or refuses to vacate the area when ordered to do so,
pursuant to the provisions of Section 53 hereof shall,
upon conviction, be fined in an amount of not less than
five hundred pesos (P500.00), nor more than twenty
thousand pesos (P20,000.00) and imprisoned for not
less than six (6) months nor more than two (2) years for
each such offense, and be liable to the payment of ten
(10) times to the rental fees and other charges which
would have accrued had the occupation and use of the
land been authorized under a license agreement, lease,
license or permit: Provided, That in the case of an
offender found guilty of making kaingin, the penalty shall
be imprisonment for not less than two (2) nor more than
four (4) years and a fine equal to eight (8) times the
regular forest charges due on the forest products
destroyed, without prejudice to the payment of the full
cost of production of the occupied area as determined by
the Bureau: Provided, further, That the maximum of the
penalty prescribed herein shall be imposed upon the
offender who repeats the same offense and double the
maximum of the penalty upon the offender who commits
the same offense for the third time.
In all cases, the Court shall further order the eviction of
the offender from the land the forfeiture to the
government of all improvements made and all vehicles,
domestic animals and equipment of any kind used in the
commission of the offense. If not suitable for use by the
Bureau, said vehicles, domestic animals, equipment and
improvements shall be sold at public auction, the
proceeds of which shall accrue to the Development Fund
of the Bureau. xxx
Section 85. Tax Declaration on Real Property -
Imprisonment for a period of not less than two (2) nor
more than four (4) years and perpetual disqualification
from holding an elective or appointive office, shall be
imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall
issue a tax declaration on real property without a
certification from the Director of Forest Development and
the Director of Lands or their duly designated
representatives that the area declared for taxation is
alienable and disposable lands, unless the property is
titled or has been occupied and possessed by members
of the national cultural minorities prior to July 4, 1955.
Question: In the situationer, does it matter that the
charcoal and lumber came from trees that the farmers
planted themselves, even if these were planted on forest
land? (Note: Gmelina is not naturally occurring in the
country, one can assume somebody planted it). Cutting
of any trees in public land requires a permit, even if the
trees were in fact planted and not naturally growing.
In a case, the Court ruled that even cutting of trees in
private lands, including trees that have been planted,
also require a permit. It is covered under Sec. 68 of PD
705 which penalizes the cutting, gathering, collecting, or
removing of timber from alienable or disposable public
land, or from private land without any authority.99
People of the Philippines vs. Alfonso Dator and
Benito Genol, accused (Acquitted), Pastor Telen,
accused-appellant. G.R. No. 136142. October 24,
2000
De Leon, Jr., J., ponente
It appears that on October 29, 1993, Police Station
Commander Alejandro Rojas of Maasin, Southern Leyte,
and SPO1 Necitas Bacala, were on board a police patrol
vehicle heading towards Barangay San Rafael, Maasin,
Southern Leyte. Upon reaching Barangay Laboon of the
same municipality, they noticed a Isuzu cargo truck
loaded with pieces of lumber bound toward the town
proper of Maasin. Suspicious that the cargo was illegally
cut pieces of lumber, Police Station Commander Rojas
maneuvered their police vehicle and gave chase.
Upon catching up with the Isuzu cargo truck in Barangay
Soro-soro, Maasin, Southern Leyte, they ordered the
driver, accused Benito Genol, to pull over. Benito Genol
was left alone in the truck after his companions hurriedly
left. When asked if he had the required documents for
the proper transport of the pieces of lumber, Genol
answered in the negative. Genol informed the police
authorities that the pieces of lumber were owned by
herein appellant, Pastor Telen, while the Isuzu cargo
truck bearing Plate No. HAF 628 was registered in the
name of Southern Leyte Farmers Agro-Industrial
Cooperative, Inc. (SLEFAICO) which is a local
cooperative. Consequently, Police Officers Rojas and
Bacala directed Benito Genol to proceed to the Maasin
Police Station, Maasin, Southern Leyte for further
investigation.
xxx
The defense denied any liability for the crime charged in
the Information. Pastor Telen, a utility worker at the
Integrated Provincial Health Office, Southern Leyte for
nineteen (19) years, testified that he needed lumber to
be used in renovating the house of his grandparents in
Barangay Abgao, Maasin, Southern Leyte where he
maintained residence. Knowing that it was prohibited by
law to cut trees without appropriate permit from the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), Telen sought the assistance of a certain Lando
dela Pena who was an employee at the CENRO,
Maasin, Southern Leyte. Dela Pena accompanied Telen
to the office of a certain Boy Leonor, who was the Officer
in Charge of CENRO in Maasin, Southern Leyte. Leonor
did not approve of the plan of Telen to cut teak or hard
lumber from his (Telen) mother’s track of land in
Tabunan, San Jose, Maasin, Southern Leyte. However,
Leonor allegedly allowed Telen to cut the aging Dita
trees only. According to Telen, Leonor assured him that
a written permit was not anymore necessary before he
could cut the Dita trees, which are considered soft
lumber, from the private land of his mother, provided the
same would be used exclusively for the renovation of his
house and that he shall plant trees as replacement
thereof, which he did by planting Gemelina seedlings.
xxx
Upon arrival in Barangay Soro-Soro, Telen was
accosted by Police Station Commander Alejandro Rojas
who demanded from him DENR permit for the sawn
lumber. After confirming ownership of the sawn lumber,
Telen explained to Rojas that he had already secured
verbal permission from Boy Leonor to cut Dita trees,
which are considered soft lumber, to be used in the
renovation of his house and that he had already
replaced the sawn Dita trees with Gemelina seedlings,
but to no avail. Rojas ordered that the pieces of lumber
and the Isuzu cargo truck be impounded at the municipal
building of Maasin, Southern Leyte for failure of Telen to
produce the required permit from the DENR.
Pastor Telen appeared before Bert Pesidas, CENRO
hearing officer, in Maasin, Southern Leyte for
investigation in connection with the confiscated pieces of
lumber. Telen had tried to contact Officer-in-Charge Boy
Leonor of the CENRO Maasin, Southern Leyte after the
confiscation of the sawn lumber on October 29, 1993
and even during the investigation conducted by the
CENRO hearing officer for three (3) times but to no avail,
for the reason that Boy Leonor was assigned at a
reforestation site in Danao, Cebu province.
xxx
After analyzing the evidence, the trial court rendered a
decision, the dispositive portion of which reads:
WHEREFORE, judgment is rendered as follows:
1. CONVICTING the accused PASTOR TELEN beyond
reasonable doubt of the offense charged and there being
no modifying circumstances, and with the Indeterminate
Sentence Law being inapplicable, the herein accused is
hereby sentenced to suffer the indivisible penalty of
RECLUSION PERPETUA, with the accessory penalties
provided by law, which is two (2) degrees higher than
PRISION MAYOR maximum, the authorized penalty
similar to Qualified Theft, and to pay the costs. His bail
for his provisional liberty is hereby cancelled and he
shall be committed to the New Bilibid Prisons,
Muntinlupa, Metro Manila thru the Abuyog Regional
Prisons, Abuyog, Leyte via the Provincial Warden,
Maasin, Southern Leyte;
xxx
In his appeal Pastor Telen interpose the following
assignments of error:
I DENR-CENRO in Maasin, Southern Leyte before cutting
THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN FINDING THE
ACCUSED-APPELLANT GUILTY BEYOND
REASONABLE DOUBT FOR VIOLATION OF SEC. 68,
P. D. 705, AS AMENDED, BEING CONTRARY TO LAW
AND THE EVIDENCE ON RECORD AND FOR BEING
NOT IN CONFORMITY WITH DENR ADMINISTRATIVE
ORDER NO. 79, SERIES OF 1990.
xxx
The appeal is not impressed with merit.
It is not disputed that appellant Pastor Telen is the owner
of the fifty-one (51) pieces of assorted Antipolo and Dita
lumber with a total volume of 1,560.16 board feet. He
alleged that the pieces of lumber were cut from the track
of land belonging to his mother in San Jose, Maasin,
Southern Leyte which he intended to use in the
renovation of his house in Barangay Abgao of the same
municipality. After having been confiscated by the police,
while in transit, in Barangay Soro-soro, appellant Telen
failed to produce before the authorities the required legal
documents from the DENR pertaining to the said pieces
of lumber.
The fact of possession by the appellant of the subject
fifty-one (51) pieces of assorted Antipolo and Dita
lumber, as well as his subsequent failure to produce the
legal documents as required under existing forest laws
and regulations constitute criminal liability for violation of
Presidential Decree No. 705, otherwise known as the
Revised Forestry Code. Section 68 of the code provides:
Section 68. Cutting, Gathering and/or Collecting Timber
or Other Forest Products Without License.-Any person
who shall cut, gather, collect, remove timber or other
forest products from any forest land, or timber from
alienable or disposable public land, or from private land,
without any authority, or possess timber or other forest
products without the legal documents as required under
existing forest laws and regulations, shall be punished
with the penalties imposed under Articles 309 and 310 of
the Revised Penal Code: Provided, that in the case of
partnerships, associations, or corporations, the officers
who ordered the cutting, gathering, collection or
possession shall be liable, and if such officers are aliens,
they shall, in addition to the penalty, be deported without
further proceedings on the part of the Commission on
Immigration and Deportation.
The Court shall further order the confiscation in favor of
the government of the timber or any forest products cut,
gathered, collected, removed, or possessed, as well as
the machinery, equipment, implements and tools illegally
used in the area where the timber or forest products are
found.
Appellant Telen contends that he secured verbal
permission from Boy Leonor, Officer- in-Charge of the
the lumber, and that the latter purportedly assured him
that written permit was not anymore necessary before
cutting soft lumber, such as the Antipolo and Dita trees
in this case, from a private track of land, to be used in
renovating appellant’s house, provided that he would
plant trees as replacements thereof, which he already
did. It must be underscored that the appellant stands
charged with the crime of violation of Section 68 of
Presidential Decree No. 705, a special statutory law, and
which crime is considered mala prohibita. In the
prosecution for crimes that are considered mala
prohibita, the only inquiry is whether or not the law has
been violated. The motive or intention underlying the act
of the appellant is immaterial for the reason that his
mere possession of the confiscated pieces of lumber
without the legal documents as required under existing
forest laws and regulations gave rise to his criminal
liability.
In any case, the mere allegation of the appellant
regarding the verbal permission given by Boy Leonor,
Officer in Charge of DENR-CENRO, Maasin, Southern
Leyte, is not sufficient to overturn the established fact
that he had no legal documents to support valid
possession of the confiscated pieces of lumber. It does
not appear from the record of this case that appellant
exerted any effort during the trial to avail of the testimony
of Boy Leonor to corroborate his allegation. Absent such
corroborative evidence, the trial court did not commit an
error in disregarding the bare testimony of the appellant
on this point which is, at best, self-serving.
The appellant cannot validly take refuge under the
pertinent provision of DENR Administrative Order No.
79, Series of 1990 which prescribes rules on the
deregulation of the harvesting, transporting and sale of
firewood, pulpwood or timber planted in private lands.
Appellant submits that under the said DENR
Administrative Order No. 79, no permit is required in the
cutting of planted trees within titled lands except
Benguet pine and premium species listed under DENR
Administrative Order No. 78, Series of 1987, namely:
narra, molave, dao, kamagong, ipil, acacia, akle, apanit,
banuyo, batikuling, betis, bolong-eta, kalantas, lanete,
lumbayao, sangilo, supa, teak, tindalo and manggis.
Concededly, the varieties of lumber for which the
appellant is being held liable for illegal possession do not
belong to the premium species enumerated under DENR
Administrative Order No. 78, Series of 1987. However,
under the same DENR administrative order, a
certification from the CENRO concerned to the effect
that the forest products came from a titled land or tax
declared alienable and disposable land must still be
secured to accompany the shipment. This the appellant
failed to do, thus, he is criminally liable under Section 68
of Presidential Decree No. 705 necessitating prior
acquisition of permit and “legal documents as required
under existing forest laws and regulations.” The pertinent
portion of DENR Administrative Order No. 79, Series of
1990, is quoted hereunder, to wit:
In line with the National Reforestation Program and in
order to promote the planting of trees by owners of
private lands and give incentives to the tree farmers,
Ministry Administrative Order No. 4 dated January 19,
1987 which lifted the restriction in the harvesting,
transporting and sale of firewood, pulpwood or timber
produced from Ipil-Ipil (leucaenia spp) and Falcate
(Albizzia falcataria) is hereby amended to include all
other tree species planted in private lands except
BENGUET PINE and premium hardwood species.
Henceforth, no permit is required in the cutting of planted
trees within the titled lands or tax declared A and D
lands with corresponding application for patent or
acquired through court proceedings, except BENGUET
PINE and premium species listed under DENR
Administrative Order No 78, Series of 1987, provided,
that a certification of the CENRO concerned to the effect
that the forest products came from a titled land or tax
declared alienable and disposable land is issued
accompanying the shipment.
The Chainsaw Act regulates the use if chainsaws in
cutting and processing wood products:
The Chainsaw Act of 2002 Republic Act No. 9175
Sec. 5. Persons Authorized to Possess and Use a Chain
Saw. — The Department is hereby authorized to issue
permits to possess and/or use a chain saw for the felling
and/or cutting of trees, timber and other forest or agro-
forest products to any applicant who:
(a) has a subsisting timber license agreement,
production sharing agreement, or similar agreements, or
a private land timber permit;
(b) is an orchard and fruit tree farmer;
(c) is an industrial tree farmer;
(d) is a licensed wood processor and the chain saw shall
be used for the cutting of timber that has been legally
sold to said applicant; or
(e) shall use the chain saw for a legal purpose.
Agencies of the government that use chain saws in
some aspects of their functions must likewise secure the
necessary permit from the Department before operating
the same.
Sec. 6. Registration of Chain Saws. — Within a period of
three (3) months from the effectivity hereof, all persons
who own or are otherwise in possession of chain saws
must register the same with the Department, through
any of its Community Environment and Natural
Resources Office, which shall issue the corresponding
registration certificate or permit if it finds such persons to
be qualified hereunder.
Every permit to possess and/or use a chain saw for
legitimate purpose shall be valid for two (2) years upon
issuance: Provided, That permits to possess and use
chainsaw issued to non-commercial orchard and fruit
tree farmers shall be valid for a period of five (5) years
upon issuance. For this purpose, the Department shall
be allowed to collect reasonable registration fees for the
effective implementation of this Act.
Sec. 7. Penal Provisions. —
(1) Selling, Purchasing, Re-selling Transferring,
Distributing or Possessing a Chain Saw Without a
Proper Permit. — Any person who sells, purchases,
transfers the ownership, distributes, or otherwise
disposes or possesses a chain saw without first securing
the necessary permit from the Department shall be
punished with imprisonment of four (4) years, two (2)
months and one (1) day to six (6) years or a fine of not
less than Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000.00) but not
more than Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00) or both at
the discretion of the court, and the chain saw/s
confiscated in favor of the government.

xxx

(4) Actual Unlawful Use of Chain Saw. — Any person

who is found to be in possession of a chain saw and
uses the same to cut trees and timber in forest land or
elsewhere except as authorized by the Department shall
be penalized with imprisonment of six (6) years and one
(1) day to eight (8) years or a fine of not less than Thirty
thousand pesos (P30,000.00) but not more than Fifty
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) or both at the discretion of
the court without prejudice to being prosecuted for a
separate offense that may have been simultaneously
committed. The chain saw unlawfully used shall be
likewise confiscated in favor of the government.

If the violation under this Sec. is committed by or through

the command or order of another person, partnership or
corporation, the penalties herein provided shall likewise
be imposed on such other person, or the responsible
officer(s) in such partnership or corporation.

If the offender is a public official or employee, in addition

to the above penalties, he shall be removed from office
and perpetually disqualified from holding any public
office.

The chain saws confiscated under this Sec. shall be sold

at public auction to qualified buyers and the proceeds
thereof shall go to the Department.

xxx

The penal provisions of the Forestry Code are very

clear. Under Section 68, there are two distinct and
separate offenses that are punishable by the Code, to
wit: (1) cutting, gathering, collecting, and removing
timber or other forest products from any forest land, or
timber from alienable or disposable public land, or from
private land without authority; and (2) possession of
timber or forest products without the legal documents
required under existing forest laws and regulations. As
for the second offense, the legality of the cutting,
gathering collecting, and removal of the forest products
is immaterial, because mere possession of forest
products without the proper documents consummates
the crime. This is because the Forest Code is a special
law, and mere possession is considered malum
prohibitum. The clarity of the penal provisions in the
Forest Code are illustrated by the following cases of
Paat vs. Court of Appeals, Mustang Lumber vs. Court of
Appeals, and Merida
 vs.
 People of the Philippines.